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Wulf's Collected Story Hour -- FINAL UPDATE 12/25
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<blockquote data-quote="Wulf Ratbane" data-source="post: 741" data-attributes="member: 94"><p><strong>THE SPEAKER IN DREAMS (Part V)</strong></p><p></p><p>Wulf crept through the shadows, under a ground floor window where a lamp was burning, and carefully peeked in. An old man sat at a desk, writing into a book. </p><p></p><p>Wulf returned to his companions. "Old geezer in there. Yer want me to take him out?"</p><p></p><p>Keldas sighed. "He's probably just a harmless librarian. Let's just knock."</p><p></p><p>"Ach... That plan worked <em>great</em> last time, right?"</p><p></p><p>"Well, I'm just saying, maybe a more subtle approach is in order. Why don't we make a distraction so we can get in and read that book."</p><p></p><p>Their new companion, the Roach, stepped forward. "Leave that to me." With Halma, Alliane, and the halfing behind him, he moved to the front of the house and boldly knocked on the door. Wulf and Keldas watched from the window as the old man got up and left the room.</p><p></p><p>Keldas acted quickly, using his magic to transform himself into a small mouse. Wulf lifted the window and set him on the sill. The little mouse hopped onto the desk, whiskers twitching, and began reading the book.</p><p></p><p>Wulf half hoped the old man kept a cat.</p><p></p><p>Back at the front door, the Roach took the lead as soon as the old man opened the door-- proving himself to be remarkably eloquent and silver-tongued.</p><p></p><p>"Good evening sir. We-- that is to say, my companions and I-- we are taking up a collection for the orphans."</p><p></p><p>"Isn't it a little late to be out for that?"</p><p></p><p>"Ahh, well, yes, but you see, it's for the orphans, and we've found that people appreciate an opportunity to ease their conscience, especially at this late hour, you see, so that they can sleep easily and not lie awake worrying about the orphans." He produced a can from somewhere on his person and jiggled it invitingly under the old man's nose.</p><p></p><p>"What are you talking about? What orphans?"</p><p></p><p>"Ahh, umm, the orphans of the great Illithid wars. The mind flayers, sir, they prey terribly on us dwarves, and it's for the orphans, as I told you, so you see."</p><p></p><p>Inside the room, the mouse was having difficulty with the book. He couldn't manage to turn the pages, and there was but a short fragment of a sentence scrawled onto the top of the next page. It seemed nothing more than the ramblings of a madman.</p><p></p><p>Back at the front door, the old librarian's manner suddenly seemed to turn around. "Very well, come in, come in. The Illithid Wars! For such a noble cause, of course I can find something." The dwarf followed the old man into the house, with the halfling and Halma right on his heels-- they seemed unwilling to let either the librarian or this Roach fellow out of sight. Alliane was left waiting on the doorstep, gazing up and down the street.</p><p></p><p>Keldas had little time to leap down off the table and scurry over to a nearby bookshelf, before the librarian parted the curtains and stepped into the back office. Keldas transformed himself into a bookworm and burrowed deeper into hiding. The Roach and the halfling followed the old man into the back room, but Halma stayed out front.</p><p></p><p>"Let's see..." the old man thought aloud, "Where did I keep my purse?" His eyes scanned the room for a moment before settling on a small closet door adjacent to the bookshelf where Keldas was hiding. "Ahh, yes. In here." And with that, he flung wide the door to the closet.</p><p></p><p>Of all the treacheries the party could have suspected, they were not ready for the one they were met with. A huge blob came <em>fallumphing</em> out of the closet, all eyes and mouths; and, once setting those countless eyes on the party, began a crazed gibbering, slobbering, and wailing that likened to wake the whole neighborhood. The old man laughed maniacally as the blob oozed into the room.</p><p></p><p>The effect of the gibbering creature was impressive. The halfing stood shock still, even as the creature attached numerous mouths to his flesh and started sucking the life right out of him. Halma, too, seemed dazed, and wandered about in the front room. From his position outside the window Wulf was also affected, and stood watching in silent horror, unable to move and unsure what to do.</p><p></p><p>Only the Roach seemed to have control over his senses. Wulf watched as his fellow dwarf went wild-eyed, his hair standing on end-- it was a sight to match the old librarian himself. The two engaged in a war of wills, slamming each other about with concussive mental forces that Wulf could not comprehend-- although, it must be noted, he appreciated greatly.</p><p></p><p>Halma suddenly seemed to regain his senses, drawing his sword and rushing into the room, but at the last moment he struck out instead at the halfling, wounding him deeply. It seemed suddenly like a very good idea to Wulf, and he dashed to the front of the building, looking to kill Alliane-- who, fortunately for her, had wandered off into the dark streets. Thwarted, Wulf ran inside and came to blows with the first opponent he could find: Halma-- though fortunately for Wulf, the young barbarian barely seemed to notice.</p><p></p><p>The halfling regained his senses long enough to start struggling against the blob creature, fending off its disgusting mouths and detaching the ones that were already feasting. But he was fading fast. Hope seemed to come for a moment when a lion suddenly erupted from the bookshelf-- only for Keldas to hear for the first time (now that he had taken a shape with ears) the gibbering wail, and he too stood dumbfounded. </p><p></p><p>The Roach was looking beaten and bedraggled, as was the old librarian. Each time the dwarf pounded the old man with some inner concussive force, the old man would respond with a larger concussion that rocked the whole room. Everyone in the jam packed back room was bleeding from places that ordinarily shouldn't-- eyes, ears, noses-- and the hungry blob was there to lap it all up. </p><p></p><p>Wulf summoned all his strength of will and tried to concentrate on the situation before they were all dead. In his brief moment of clarity, it seemed to him that killing the old wizard would do them little good if the blob's wailing continued, as they'd soon kill each other in the confusion. He brought <em>Taranak</em> to hand and charged the blob, cleaving it in two in one expert stroke. The wailing stopped and they all regained their senses.</p><p></p><p>Keldas the lion made short, grisly work of the librarian. </p><p></p><p>Wulf sent Halma running into the night to bring Alliane back to heal their wounds. It took every bit of her skill and magic, and even so they were none of them feeling better than about half strength.</p><p></p><p>Thus weakened, and without any further magic to support them, they did the only thing that adventurers in their situation <em>could</em> do:</p><p></p><p>Wulf headed down the back stairs, alone, to check out the darkened basement, while Halma trooped up the same narrow flight to see what hell he could unleash on the next floor.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Wulf Ratbane, post: 741, member: 94"] [b]THE SPEAKER IN DREAMS (Part V)[/b] Wulf crept through the shadows, under a ground floor window where a lamp was burning, and carefully peeked in. An old man sat at a desk, writing into a book. Wulf returned to his companions. "Old geezer in there. Yer want me to take him out?" Keldas sighed. "He's probably just a harmless librarian. Let's just knock." "Ach... That plan worked [i]great[/i] last time, right?" "Well, I'm just saying, maybe a more subtle approach is in order. Why don't we make a distraction so we can get in and read that book." Their new companion, the Roach, stepped forward. "Leave that to me." With Halma, Alliane, and the halfing behind him, he moved to the front of the house and boldly knocked on the door. Wulf and Keldas watched from the window as the old man got up and left the room. Keldas acted quickly, using his magic to transform himself into a small mouse. Wulf lifted the window and set him on the sill. The little mouse hopped onto the desk, whiskers twitching, and began reading the book. Wulf half hoped the old man kept a cat. Back at the front door, the Roach took the lead as soon as the old man opened the door-- proving himself to be remarkably eloquent and silver-tongued. "Good evening sir. We-- that is to say, my companions and I-- we are taking up a collection for the orphans." "Isn't it a little late to be out for that?" "Ahh, well, yes, but you see, it's for the orphans, and we've found that people appreciate an opportunity to ease their conscience, especially at this late hour, you see, so that they can sleep easily and not lie awake worrying about the orphans." He produced a can from somewhere on his person and jiggled it invitingly under the old man's nose. "What are you talking about? What orphans?" "Ahh, umm, the orphans of the great Illithid wars. The mind flayers, sir, they prey terribly on us dwarves, and it's for the orphans, as I told you, so you see." Inside the room, the mouse was having difficulty with the book. He couldn't manage to turn the pages, and there was but a short fragment of a sentence scrawled onto the top of the next page. It seemed nothing more than the ramblings of a madman. Back at the front door, the old librarian's manner suddenly seemed to turn around. "Very well, come in, come in. The Illithid Wars! For such a noble cause, of course I can find something." The dwarf followed the old man into the house, with the halfling and Halma right on his heels-- they seemed unwilling to let either the librarian or this Roach fellow out of sight. Alliane was left waiting on the doorstep, gazing up and down the street. Keldas had little time to leap down off the table and scurry over to a nearby bookshelf, before the librarian parted the curtains and stepped into the back office. Keldas transformed himself into a bookworm and burrowed deeper into hiding. The Roach and the halfling followed the old man into the back room, but Halma stayed out front. "Let's see..." the old man thought aloud, "Where did I keep my purse?" His eyes scanned the room for a moment before settling on a small closet door adjacent to the bookshelf where Keldas was hiding. "Ahh, yes. In here." And with that, he flung wide the door to the closet. Of all the treacheries the party could have suspected, they were not ready for the one they were met with. A huge blob came [i]fallumphing[/i] out of the closet, all eyes and mouths; and, once setting those countless eyes on the party, began a crazed gibbering, slobbering, and wailing that likened to wake the whole neighborhood. The old man laughed maniacally as the blob oozed into the room. The effect of the gibbering creature was impressive. The halfing stood shock still, even as the creature attached numerous mouths to his flesh and started sucking the life right out of him. Halma, too, seemed dazed, and wandered about in the front room. From his position outside the window Wulf was also affected, and stood watching in silent horror, unable to move and unsure what to do. Only the Roach seemed to have control over his senses. Wulf watched as his fellow dwarf went wild-eyed, his hair standing on end-- it was a sight to match the old librarian himself. The two engaged in a war of wills, slamming each other about with concussive mental forces that Wulf could not comprehend-- although, it must be noted, he appreciated greatly. Halma suddenly seemed to regain his senses, drawing his sword and rushing into the room, but at the last moment he struck out instead at the halfling, wounding him deeply. It seemed suddenly like a very good idea to Wulf, and he dashed to the front of the building, looking to kill Alliane-- who, fortunately for her, had wandered off into the dark streets. Thwarted, Wulf ran inside and came to blows with the first opponent he could find: Halma-- though fortunately for Wulf, the young barbarian barely seemed to notice. The halfling regained his senses long enough to start struggling against the blob creature, fending off its disgusting mouths and detaching the ones that were already feasting. But he was fading fast. Hope seemed to come for a moment when a lion suddenly erupted from the bookshelf-- only for Keldas to hear for the first time (now that he had taken a shape with ears) the gibbering wail, and he too stood dumbfounded. The Roach was looking beaten and bedraggled, as was the old librarian. Each time the dwarf pounded the old man with some inner concussive force, the old man would respond with a larger concussion that rocked the whole room. Everyone in the jam packed back room was bleeding from places that ordinarily shouldn't-- eyes, ears, noses-- and the hungry blob was there to lap it all up. Wulf summoned all his strength of will and tried to concentrate on the situation before they were all dead. In his brief moment of clarity, it seemed to him that killing the old wizard would do them little good if the blob's wailing continued, as they'd soon kill each other in the confusion. He brought [i]Taranak[/i] to hand and charged the blob, cleaving it in two in one expert stroke. The wailing stopped and they all regained their senses. Keldas the lion made short, grisly work of the librarian. Wulf sent Halma running into the night to bring Alliane back to heal their wounds. It took every bit of her skill and magic, and even so they were none of them feeling better than about half strength. Thus weakened, and without any further magic to support them, they did the only thing that adventurers in their situation [i]could[/i] do: Wulf headed down the back stairs, alone, to check out the darkened basement, while Halma trooped up the same narrow flight to see what hell he could unleash on the next floor. [/QUOTE]
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